Easy Brussels Sprouts Gratin with Swiss and Parmesan (Video)

posted by Kalyn Denny on November 23, 2013

This Easy Brussels Sprouts Gratin with Swiss and Parmesan is low-carb and gluten-free, and it’s perfect for Thanksgiving or any time you want a special side dish! Check out Holiday Recipes for more Thanksgiving ideas!

Watch the video to see if you’d like to makeEasy Brussels Sprouts Gratin!

For weeks now I’ve been sharing Carb-Conscious Thanksgiving Recipes to give my readers plenty of healthy Thanksgiving options. I like getting started early, but now I’ve already posted my Top Ten Thanksgiving Recipes and yet there’s no doubt this Easy Brussels Sprouts Gratin with Swiss and Parmesan would have made it on to that list if I’d tested the recipe sooner. But even so, it’s the weekend before Thanksgiving, and this recipe is just too amazing to save for another year.

These delicious brussels sprouts are the siblings of several other easyvegetablegratinrecipes I’ve made through the years, and any of those recipes can be assembled earlier in the day and then put in the oven to finish cooking while you carve the turkey and make the gravy. And I tested this out on my gorgeous niece Alyson who stopped by to pick up some soup, and she gave it an enthusiastic two thumbs up!

I do have a new recipe for turkey soup and other suggestions for turkey leftovers that I’ll be posting over the next two days, so I hope Meatless Monday fans won’t mind if they show up on the day that’s usually reserved for meatless recipes! (You can also find more meatless recipes by checking the Index Page for Meatless Monday, or check my Meatless Monday Pinterest Board, where there are great ideas from food bloggers from all over the web.)

Brussels sprouts can be kind of dirty, so I trim the stems, cut into halves (or quarters if they’re large) and give them a good wash in the salad spinner. Be sure to spin really dry. Put the sprouts into a small bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil, thyme, and some fresh-ground black pepper. I like to grate my own Swiss cheese so I can get it really fine, and you don’t need more than a few ounces to make a cup of grated swiss when it’s this finely grated.

Mix together the light mayo, mayo, lemon juice, Dijon, and black pepper; then mix in the finely grated swiss to make the gratin topping. Mist or brush a large non-stick frying pan with olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the brussels sprouts and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sprouts have turned bright green and are starting to brown. Here’s how my brussels sprouts looked after 6 minutes. They’re going to cook more in the oven so keep them pretty crisp for this initial cooking.

Put sprouts into an oven-proof gratin dish. Spread the topping mixture over the sprouts using a rubber scraper. Sprinkle the top with the coarsely-grated Parmesan. Bake at 400F/200C for 20-25 minutes, depending on how done you like the cheese. As you can tell, I like it kind of well-done and I devoured about half of this for lunch immediately after I took these photos!

Use a hand grater to finely grate the swiss cheese until you have about a cup (not packed).

Mix together the light mayo, mayo, lemon juice (I used my fresh-frozen lemon juice), Dijon, and a few grinds of black pepper, then stir in the grated cheese to make the gratin topping.

Mist or brush a large non-stick frying pan with olive oil and heat over medium-high heat until it feels hot when you hold your hand there.

Add the brussels sprouts and cook, stirring occasionally, until sprouts have turned bright green and started to brown slightly, about 6 minutes. (Don’t overcook at this point; they will cook more in the oven.)

Put sprouts into a gratin dish and spread into a flat layer.

Put spoonfuls of the gratin topping in several spots over the top; then use a rubber scraper to spread the topping out into a thin layer. (Don’t put it all in the middle and try to spread out; you’ll never get it spread out that much.)

Sprinkle the coarsely-grated Parmesan over the top. (At this point the dish can be put in the refrigerator to be baked later. I would let it come to room temperature before you bake it, and bake slightly longer at a slightly lower temperature to be sure the center gets hot before the cheese topping is done.)

Put the dish into the preheated oven and bake 20-25 minutes, or until the top is nicely browned and the mixture is heated through.

Serve hot.

Notes:

South Beach Diet / Low-Carb Diet Suggestions:
I would eat this Easy Brussels Sprouts Gratin any phase of the South Beach Diet, but make this a “once-in-a-while treat” for a special occasion (like Thanksgiving!) South Beach would recommend using the light mayo (and low-fat cheese if you can find it). This is also great for other low-carb eating plans, even Keto, but other low-carb plans will prefer full-fat dairy products.

Nutritional Information?
If you want nutritional information for a recipe, I recommend entering the recipe into this nutrition analyzer, which will calculate it for you. Or if you’re a member of Yummly, you can use the Yum button on my site to save the recipe and see the nutritional information there.

Oh wow…! I love Brussels sprouts any which way, but even the best vegetables can be improved by CHEESE! Definitely giving this a try now that sprouts are back in season. Thanks for including my recipe BTW 🙂

I made these tonight and my Mom claimed this was one of the best dishes I have made! She couldn't get enough and she can't wait to make them herself! We are fans of roasted brussel sprouts but these just take it up a notch : )Thank you!

I haven't tried it in the crockpot so I can't say for sure, but honestly I don't think it would work that well. The oven dries out the sprouts for a roasted nutty flavor, while the slow cooker adds more moisture. I think it might be soggy and for sure the cheese will not brown in the slow cooker.

I tried this last night. I skipped the pan frying part and placed the sprouts in a baking dish, drizzled them with olive oil and spices, and roasted them in the oven for about six minutes until they were slightly brown. This saved messing up another pan. I love to cook. I'm not so keen on the cleaning up part. Then I spread the gratin topping over the roasted sprouts, and continued baking for 20 minutes. Talk about awesome! My husband didn't like it. He's not a gratin fan. Next time I'll make a small crock of them without the gratin for him. My sister-in-law and her husband LOVED it. The Dijon and lemon (I used lime) juice add a nice tang. This is definitely a keeper.

Sorry, I haven’t tried with frozen ones. If you try it, I would not pre-cook the frozen ones. If you have time, I’d put them in the baking dish and let them thaw before adding the cheesy topping. I’m not sure if they will be watery; would love to hear if you try it.